The good, bad and ugly from Jags' victory over Colts

The Jacksonville Jaguars showed they still have a pulse after ending a seven game losing streak Sunday by defeating the surging Indianapolis Colts. And though it wasn’t high scoring, there was still a great deal of analyzing to be done. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly we gathered from Sunday’s AFC South showdown:

The good — or better yet, the great

Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

The Jags’ defense not only had their best performance of the season Week 13 against the Colts, but it was probably one of their best in the past two seasons. Shutting down the league’s fourth ranked offense –– a unit that was averaging nearly 30 points a game –– is no small feat as the Colts were surging and Andrew Luck was making a case for most valuable player heading into the game.

Simply put, the success the Jags’ defense had Sunday was due to two things: pride and lineup changes. The unit was embarrassed in their previous meeting with the Colts as Eric Ebron and T.Y. Hilton racked up yardage at will. Jalen Ramsey also had what was arguably his worst week in the process, and it looks like the defense took on his mentality Week 13 to make up for it. The All-Pro balled out and locked down the Colts’ receiving corps the whole day limiting the impact plays of Ebron and Hilton, which was ultimately the key to the game.

As for the lineup changes, the Jags promoted rookie Ronnie Harrison to the starting strong safety spot in place of Barry Church, and the impact was immediately felt. There was more speed at the position and less coverage lapses, which were big keys to victory.

The unit also decided to once again bench Malik Jackson for a combination of Abry Jones and Marcell Dareus at three-technique. Clearly, the reason for that was due to Jackson’s struggles against the run, but they also may have found an ultra versatile duo in the process. Both can flip from nose tackle to three-technique if asked and they make for a pair that could give other teams fits in the future.

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